The present invention has particular applicability to the commercial nursery and greenhouse industries, wherein it has been known to supply trays or "flats" for planting seedlings and the like. Each flat includes one or more inserts or "packs" which actually hold the plant. Each pack includes a plurality of individual, arranged cells, wherein each cell is a cup or receptacle. Each cell may be filled with soil and used to hold a plant or seedling. A pack is often purchased by the consumer who wishes the number of plants in the given pack.
For the consumer who visits a nursery or greenhouse, it is often desired to purchase a number of packs of a variety of plants. The packs are most often arranged in even rows and the consumer is encouraged to browse and select a pack of plants which meets the needs of the particular gardening application. For even the average sized gardening project, this often requires more than one pack.
Packs may be easily produced in large quantities by thermoforming or the like, and are usually regarded by the industry as being a useful item of short-term or even disposable service life.
It is known to provide packs which have a relatively thin wall and base construction as opposed to a stronger upper surface and rim portion. In this way, it is possible to more easily remove a plant from an individual cell by pushing the base and lower wall toward the rim portion and exposing the root ball of the plant.
Furthermore, it has also been found that if the individual cell is first removed from a pack, then the detached cell itself can be turned upside down to aid in removal of the plant. The portions of the packs between each cell, while possibly being stiffer or stronger than the bottom wall and base portions of the cell, are often made to be either removed, cut or broken. Unfortunately, when a pack is potted with a number of plants, the thin material between the cells is often not sufficient to support the entire weight of the cells. It is not possible in that circumstance to simply grasp one side of the pack and pick it up, because the pack is prone to collapse under its own weight combined with that of the plants.
The attachment of handles to the pack so as to evenly distribute weight throughout the structure has been employed with generally successful results. However, these handles have adversely impacted usefulness, ease of production and cost of such packs.
For example, it has been known to provide a slot and bit connector, wherein the pack is provided with a narrow slot into which a bit at the end of a handle is inserted and then twisted. By being twisted with respect to the slot, the bit is prevented from being removed from the slot, and hence the handle may be used to pick up the pack. Often, the handle has two bits for engaging two slots.
For the gardening industry professional as well as for the average consumer, and for many applications wherein it is necessary to move a container, a need exists for a container having an integral handle which is useful for carrying the container and which is cost effective to manufacture.